Burner for Unprocessed Oils

ABSTRACT

A system and techniques for oil combustion are provided. The system includes a storage container for separating one or more contaminants from strained oil via gravity separation to produce segregated oil; an oil uptake channel for entraining a layer of the segregated oil from the storage container; a fuel regulator for controlling rate of flow of the segregated oil from the storage container as an input stream to a burner head via the oil uptake channel, wherein the fuel regulator comprises a pump motor speed control; and a burner head control for repositioning a burner head under the segregated oil input stream to produce a controllable amount of heat output.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/366,507 filed Feb. 6, 2012, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/501,830, filed Jun. 28, 2011, incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to energy technology, and,more particularly, to fuel sources for conventional heating appliances.

BACKGROUND

Waste oil burners are designed primarily to handle petroleum oils thathave been contaminated in the course of their intended uses. Such oilscan include motor sump oils, lubricating oils, hydraulic oils, cuttingoils, dirty fuel oils, old heating oils, etc. Conventional waste oilburners operate in limited circumstances to capture the embodied energyvalue of these waste oils for space heating, process heating, hot waterproduction and similar purposes. In existing approaches, the majority ofwaste oil combustion systems require the waste oil to be pre-filtered toavoid clogging of an orifice dispersion system; that is, a burner systemthat sprays pre-heated oil through a constricted nozzle so that itatomizes and passes through the path of the igniter.

In existing approaches, the waste oils must also contain relativelytrivial amounts of emulsified or suspended water or suspended solids forproper operation. Most power burners that are used in waste oilcombustion systems also incorporate an air compressor, a relativelyhigh-pressure pump and one or more electric resistance heaters in thefuel stream, all part of a system that is used to atomize what isotherwise an especially viscous and dense fluid. The atomized dropletsare ignited using a high voltage electric spark in the focused miststream. The burner head (also referred to as a nozzle) is a conventionaldevice by which a liquid fuel stream is atomized. The resulting flame isdirected into a heating appliance, such as a boiler or furnace.

However, a need exists in providing an oil burner system that overcomesthe tendency of conventional burners to carbonize or otherwise obstructthe orifice of the burner head over time. Additional improvements wouldreduce the amount of electrical resistance heating, leading to reducedoperating costs. Also, reduced fuel preprocessing would save labor andadditional costs.

With the lessening of petroleum reserves, there is a need to generateliquid fuels that are made from waste and/or renewable materials. By wayof example, in the case of restaurants and food service facilities,waste oil from frying and food processing is typically collected andtransported to a rendering plant where the water is removed and theresulting oil is filtered through very narrow mesh (micron) screens andfilters or is vacuum-distilled and the resultant refined product is thensold to various users, such as a biodiesel producer. These samerestaurants, in order to provide for their domestic hot water needs,might also buy the resulting biodiesel or conventional heating oil fortheir oil-fired hot water or space-heating appliance.

Accordingly, a need exists to more effectively utilize waste oilson-site for use as fuel to meet energy needs and reduce the need fortransport and refinement.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present invention, a burner for unprocessed oils isprovided. An exemplary method (which may be computer-implemented) forperforming oil combustion, according to one aspect of the invention, caninclude steps of separating one or more contaminants from strained oilto produce segregated layers of oil; selectively drawing one or moresegregated layers of the oil; entraining the drawn oil to a burner forcombustion; and regulating flow rate of the oil being entrained to theburner to produce a controllable amount of heat output, wherein saidregulating comprises implementing a pump motor speed control.

A waste oil combustion system is also provided. The system includes astorage container for separating one or more contaminants from strainedoil via gravity separation to produce segregated oil; an oil uptakechannel for entraining a layer of the segregated oil from the storagecontainer; a fuel regulator for controlling rate of flow of thesegregated oil from the storage container as an input stream to a burnerhead via the oil uptake channel, wherein the fuel regulator comprises apump motor speed control; and a burner head control for repositioning aburner head under the segregated oil input stream to produce acontrollable amount of heat output.

One or more embodiments of the invention or elements thereof can beimplemented in the form of an apparatus or system including a feedbacksystem and at least one processor that is coupled to a sensor thatcontrols the rate of delivery of fuel oil to the burner head.

In another aspect, one or more embodiments of the invention or elementsthereof can be implemented in the form of means for carrying out one ormore of the method steps described herein; the means can includehardware module(s), software module(s), or a combination of hardware andsoftware modules.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are diagrams illustrating multiple views of a burnerfor unprocessed waste oil, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating techniques for performing wasteoil combustion, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of an exemplary computer system on which atleast one embodiment of the present invention can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described herein, an aspect of the present invention includes usingwaste oils to burn on-site in conventional heating appliances such asfurnaces and boilers that typically rely on the combustion of a liquidfuel as the source of heat. Accordingly, an example embodiment of theinvention enables the use of unprocessed waste oils as a fuel source inthe location where they are generated without pretreatment and withoutpre-heating. Additionally, an aspect of the invention enables theutilization of many waste oil based fuels without the necessity of smallmesh (<100 micron scale) filtering, dewatering, or other pre-processing.An example embodiment of the invention is also capable of operation onconventional heating oils or other processed oils over a wide range ofviscosities and heat contents.

Merely as an illustrative example, a restaurant and/or commercialkitchen are described herein in connection with an embodiment of theinvention, but it is to be appreciated that the techniques andstructures detailed herein can be implemented within the regulatoryboundaries in a variety of industries and/or residential settings, andin a variety of combustion systems.

Accordingly, an aspect of the invention includes implementation within acomplete fuel handling system that can operate on a wide variety ofwaste oils as well as conventional heating oils. Such a system can beoperated in most circumstances where a conventional liquid fueled burneroperates, except, for example, as restricted by codes, laws orconventions. The burner of such a system can also serve, for example, asa functional replacement for packaged oil burners from approximately20,000 British thermal units (BTUs) per hour up to 300,000 BTUs perhour.

As noted herein, an embodiment of the invention can be implemented as awaste vegetable oil or waste motor oil combustion system due to theability to handle a wide range of dirty and/or wet waste oils. Also,because of the lessened negative environmental consequences of vegetableoil combustion compared to petroleum combustion, vegetable oil is oftena preferred operating fuel. Reduced environmental impacts of vegetableoil based fuel include the near elimination of sulfur compounds,reduction of carbon monoxide, reduction of potentially carcinogenicN-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) combustion products, andsubstantial reduction of global warming gasses.

The techniques detailed herein can also be carried out with waste or newpetroleum oils or a mixture of any of these fuels. All types ofvegetable oils and animal fats may be used, and hydrogenated oils orsaturated fats that are solid at room temperature may require sufficientheating to liquefy before use.

The description of the equipment and the operating sequence for exampleembodiments of the invention will be based on the example use of wastevegetable oil in its usual form as generated by a restaurant orcommercial kitchen food frying operation. Additionally, as detailedfurther herein, the system does not require the use of special nozzlecleaning systems, and also does not require the use of outside chemicalor physical treatment systems in preparation of the waste oil stream.

At least one embodiment of the invention includes incorporating thephysical process of liquid fuel atomization. Regulating this process isaccomplished by fine adjustment of the position of the burner headrelative to the input fuel stream so that the resulting laminar film offuel is thicker or thinner when it flows over the air pressure exitport. The regulation process, may be accomplished by the user/operatoror by microprocessor controlled mechanical adjustments. This results inthe volume of atomized fuel being greater or lesser, and the resultingheat output may be tuned by the user/operator to the needs of theheating system to which the burner is applied. Further, such a design iseasily adaptable to most conventional burner chassis designs. Theseadaptations and original additions to a variety of conventional oilburners constitute a novel aspect and design of embodiments of theinvention. Variations in the specific components, such as, for example,the air pressure source, the oil pump speed, or other components areadaptations necessitated by the specific application to which anembodiment of the invention is adapted.

Waste oils from the preparation of foodstuffs are generated in severalconventional forms. Waste oils from many kitchens include the degradededible liquid vegetable oils or animal fats used for deep frying food orother vegetable oil intensive food preparation processes. These oilstend to deteriorate in use after a few days, and are periodicallydisposed. In many restaurant and/or commercial kitchen settings, theseare often the largest source of waste oils by volume. These oils arealso referred to herein as Recycled Vegetable Oil (RVO). RVO can oftencontain a moderate amount of particulate contaminates, less than 10% byvolume on average, for example. Also, RVO often has a volume of waterentrained, suspended or co-mingled. This water contamination can be aninsignificant portion or in the case of operator error, may be up to 99%of the total volume of a given container of “waste oil.”

RVO is transported to the input of the system, as detailed herein, by avariety of conveyances. Open-topped buckets or trays may transport RVOfrom the fryers where the RVO has been declared surplus. A restrictioncan exist in the form of a temperature limit on the RVO so that anyplastic components of the system are not heat damaged. For example, thiscan mean a temperature limit of less than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

A second common conveyance includes an approximately five-gallondisposable plastic jug that is often used in the retail distribution ofedible vegetable oil. These jugs can be refilled with RVO and are oftenaccumulated for disposal at the kitchen site. Also, they oftendemonstrate the gravity separation of the contents into multiple layersof varying density showing the separation of water, particulate matterand RVO. Although some decanting of the uppermost layer of RVO isdesirable, it is not required for the normal operation of one or moreembodiments of the invention. The disposable jugs can be opened andupended into the input side of the system in normal operation.

Other input options can include the direct piping of RVO from its sourceinto the system, according to one or more embodiments of the invention.This type of connection is often available as an option for eatingestablishments that install a continuous cleaning system for frying oiloperations. Additionally, as described herein, once the fuel istransported to a system encompassing an embodiment of the invention, thefuel pathway within the embodiment of the invention is required foroperation.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are diagrams illustrating multiple views of a burnerfor unprocessed waste oil, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As depicted in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, input fuel and anyassociated contaminants are entered into the system through thestraining bucket (1). In an example embodiment of the invention, thestraining bucket (1) can be a new or recycled 5-gallon poly pail, whichcan be modified by cutting or removing a disk out of the bottom (25) (orusing a similarly pre-constructed item), leaving a lip of ½-inch widthor similar as a continuous support. Additionally, the conveyancemechanisms described above are used to transport the waste oil intostraining bucket (1).

To the bucket structure, a disk of stainless steel, woven-wire mesh (24)of various mesh sizes (for example, 40 mesh or 380 micron openings) canbe attached by welding or other means. Straining bucket (1) removesparticulate matter larger than the mesh openings and accumulates a largepercentage of emulsions, semi-solid colloids, congealed fine particulatepastes and other larger contaminants. To a large extent, water and RVOpass through the straining bucket (1) unimpeded. Further, in at leastone embodiment of the invention, the straining bucket (1) can be removedand cleaned by a variety of methods, including gravity after inversionand hot air blast treatment.

The RVO and water, both potentially contaminated with fine particulatematter, are channeled via a wide-mouth drum funnel (2) (for example, acustom fabricated funnel capable of holding the base of the strainingbucket (1)) that is connected to a short length (for example, 3″) ofsteel pipe nipple (for example, ¾″ national pipe thread (NPT)) (3). Thispipe nipple, in turn, is connected into the (for example, ¾″) bung hole(4) of a fuel storage container (such as a drum) (5) (for example, a55-gallon steel drum modified as a storage container supplied as a partof such a system or other fuel storage container. The modified drumincludes a bottom drain, such as a ball valve (6) (for example, a ½″ball valve) connected to the sidewall near the base of the drum to awelded (for example, ½″) tank fitting (7). This bottom drain serves toremove accumulated water from the system via component (8).

As should be appreciated by one skilled in the art, while FIG. 1A andFIG. 1B depict an example embodiment of the invention, any fuelcontainer that encourages gravity separation of the fuel and thecontaminants may be used in embodiments of the invention.

As also depicted in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a removable drum lid (9) canhave, for example, a 2″ fitting threaded into a 2″ bung hole (14). This2″ fitting is part of a sub-assembly referred to as a floating draw-off(11). Additionally, 2″ is merely identified here within the context ofthis example embodiment, and it is to be appreciated that other sizescan be implemented according to the related components of an embodimentof the invention.

The floating draw-off (11) includes an assembly (10) (for example, abrass assembly) with flow channels, associated tubing and a float. Thepurpose is to allow the uptake of the topmost layer of fuel from thestorage container (such as a drum) without entraining the lower layersthat may be burdened with the largest percentage of contaminants. In anexample embodiment of the invention depicted, multiple channels manageadditional flow streams, including the stream of excess fuel as it isreturned from the burner head because not all of the fuel delivered tothe burner head is consumed in any one pass.

The fuel uptake channel (for example, component(s) of floating draw-off(11) in FIG. 1A) is connected on the underside to a length of compatibleflexible hose (12). In one or more embodiments of the invention, thehose (12) is the length of the sum of the height and width of the fuelstorage drum (5) and is connected on its distal end to a float (13) ofsufficient buoyancy to support the sum of the weights of the hose, thefloat and the liquid contents without being completely submerged.Approximately 1″ below the distal end of the float are a series of sidevents to allow uptake of the liquid fuel (76) from the uppermost sectionof fuel reservoir in the fuel storage drum (5). Because any co-mingledcontaminants in the fuel are likely water and particulate matter, bothdenser than RVO, such contaminants tend to settle towards the bottom ofthe fuel storage drum (5). The floating draw-off (11) entrains thecleanest and driest fuel in the fuel storage drum (5). Accumulated waterand/or persistent emulsions, if any, are removed by use of the bottomdrain. These materials are waste streams that require disposal.

The fuel is sucked into the burner pump (for example, component (31) inFIG. 1A and FIG. 1B) through a check valve (15) in the floating draw-off(11) and through a series of pipe-fittings (as depicted as part ofcomponent (11) in FIG. 1A) to a suction fuel strainer (16) with aninternal mesh screen (for example, a 140 micron stainless steel meshscreen). This screen removes smaller particulate matter and moresuspended colloids and congealed fats to protect the pump. Many hours ofoperation with various grades of contaminated oil has shown that due tothe location of the intake of fuel in the drum, cleaning of the fuelpath, for example, can be as infrequent as annually. The screens in thefuel path may be washed and reused.

The outlet of the suction fuel strainer (16) is connected to a fuelsupply tube (17) (for example, a metal fuel supply tube) with flaredconnectors (18). In at least one embodiment of the invention, the fuelsupply tube (17) is long enough to reach the burner that is installed inthe heating appliance. The fuel supply tube (17) is rigidly connectedfrom the floating draw-off (11) to the fuel input firematic valve (19)of the burner in a vacuum tight manner.

The burner (20) can be installed in an oil-fired heating appliance (21)of choice, such as a boiler or furnace. The installation can conform tothe industry standards, for example, with a commonly used 4″ diametersteel thin-wall tubing fire tube (22) bolted in place to a furnaceflange (23). As is to be appreciated by one skilled in the art, otherembodiments of the invention can include custom installations for otherpurposes. Appliances and controls located downstream of the fire tube(22) can be, for example, supplied by others and not be included as apart of this system.

An example embodiment of the invention can include utilizing mostlystandard, unmodified configurations and sub-systems found in theoperation and control of conventional liquid fueled combustion devices.On the opposite end of the fire tube (22) from the heating appliance canbe industry standard combustion controls and safety systems. These caninclude the fire eye (37), which confirms the presence of a flame, thecontroller (39), which acts as a logic circuit for flame control, andthe firematic valve (19), which acts as a temperature-limiting safetyvalve.

Such components can include a waste oil pump (31), a combustion air fan(32) with air shutter (33), an electric motor (34), electrodes (35),electrode holders (36), a fire eye (37), an igniter (38), a burnercontroller (39) with on-off control (40), an electrical box (41), an oilsupply tube (61), firematic valve (19), and burner chassis (42). In oneor more embodiments of the invention, the burner controller (39)controls the motor (34), electrodes (35) spark, blower (27) and the fuelpump (31). The controller (39) can also serve as the primary safetysystem for burner operation. The modification of some of these elementscan be included in the burner of one or more embodiments of theinvention. As an example, the industry offers several varieties of eachof these components for particular purposes. Many, if not all, of thesecomponents can be functional with an embodiment of the invention asdescribed herein. Further, in an aspect of the invention, one or moreportions of the techniques described herein can be implemented in thefaun of software or firmware that controls the controller (39).

The fire tube (22) has an electrode port (43) located above the distalend of the electrodes. Due to the tendency of RVO to carbonize theelectrodes, this electrode port (43) provides access for periodiccleaning. In an example embodiment of the invention, it is constructedwith a threaded hole in which is a ¾″ threaded plug (45).

As depicted in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, oil from the oil storage drum (5)via the floating draw-off (11) enters the oil pump (31) via a firematicvalve (19). In an example embodiment of the invention, the pump has a280-micron+\−intake screen that has been protected from clogging by thesuction fuel strainer (16).

The fuel pump outlet (73) is piped through a check valve (75) to thefuel regulator (50), which includes a square-wave sinusoidal flowchannel (51) machined in a metal (for example, aluminum) block (52) witha gasketed cover (53). The flow channel (51) serves to slow the flow ofoil to the burner without creating a constriction that might lead toclogging due to the solid contents of the fuel stream. The flow channel(51) is created by use of multiple changes of flow direction, whichcreate resistance to flow. The changes of direction can be in the formof a sinusoidal pattern or other complex pattern. An electric cartridgeheater (54) operates on a thermostat (55), transferring thermal energyto the fuel along its passage. This serves to reduce viscosity in thefuel and improve ignition and combustion through improved dispersion. Inan example embodiment of the invention, the fuel exit temperature iscontrolled at 160 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (+/−). The fuel regulator (50)is contained within insulation (71) in a metal box (56) with a metalcover (57).

Additionally, in at least one embodiment of the invention, a lowpressure, low volume standard air compressor (58) is a component of theburner. For example, the air compressor operates whenever the burner isin operation and supplies 20 to 40 pounds per square inch (psi) airthrough a pressure tube (65) at one to two cubic feet per minute (CFM)to the compressed air inlet (59) on the burner. The compressed air inlet(59) is on one end of the pressure tube (60), which can be identical indesign and location to an oil supply tube in conventional oil burners,and which can be repurposed in one or more embodiments of the invention.

The outflow from the fuel regulator (50) is connected to an oil supplytube (61) and then to an inlet fitting (62) on the fire tube (22). Theinlet fitting (62) is located directly above the center of the burnerhead (63) on the end of the pressure tube (60).

The positions of the pressure tube (60) and the burner head (63) areadjustable within a defined range relative to the position of the inletfitting (62) via a slide control (64) located where the compressed airline (65) is connected on the wall of the burner chassis (42). Thisadjustment allows the fuel stream to flow over the surface of the burnerhead either closer or farther away from the spray hole outlet,consequently resulting in a larger amount or a lesser amount of fuelspray. In at least one embodiment of the invention (and as furtherillustrated in the magnified slide control detail (28) in FIG. 1A), botha knurled ring (66) and a setscrew (67) control the position of thepressure tube assembly for short-term adjustment and long-term positionlocking, respectively. The forward or backward positioning of the slidecontrol is the ultimate control of the fuel feed and the consequent heatoutput.

Additionally, in connection with at least one embodiment of theinvention, a principal of operation is known as the Babington Principal.As used herein, the Babington Principal is a design for a nebulizingsprayer as a nozzle for aspirating varying viscosity liquid fuels bymeans of a small diameter jet of compressed air disrupting the laminarflow of liquid film as it travels by gravity across a curved surface.The liquid is metered onto the upside pole of a hollow steel sphericalsurface, a “Babington Ball” (63) of approximately 1½″ diameter. Flowingdown the surface, it is essentially a laminar film. Into this hollowball enters the compressed air flowing from the pressure tube (60). TheBabington Ball (63) is threaded onto the end of the pressure tube (60).On the opposite side of the Babington Ball is a spray hole (for example,with dimensions of approximately 0.010″ across) or slit (for example,with dimensions of approximately 0.10″ long by 0.006″ width) (68) cutthrough the outside wall of the Babington Ball. Due to the shearingaction of the compressed air exiting the Babington Ball, the portion ofthe fuel film in the vicinity of the spray slit (68) is atomized in acontinuous fine mist spray in the direction of the compressed air streamand the airstream from the combustion air fan (32).

At a gauged distance (of, in an example embodiment of the invention,approximately ½″) from the surface of the Babington Ball are twoelectrodes (35) with a 14,000-volt or greater energy potential providedby the igniter (38). This produces a continuous spark across an air gapthat is able to ignite the fuel mist into complete combustion. Theportion of the fuel that travels on a different path to the downsidepole of the Babington Ball is not burned and is channeled to an oil sump(69) in the fire tube (22). The fire tube (22) in the industry standardis a 4″ diameter steel pipe of a variable length. This can be modifiedin at least one embodiment of the invention by the addition of a sump(69), an inspection port (45), a fuel inlet (62) and crescent shapedtube end baffles (74) that serve to retain any over-spray liquid fueland help it return to the sump (69).

The flame path of the burning fuel is directed by a combination of thecompressed air stream, the combustion air stream and the natural draftof the heating appliance through a conventional appliance chimney. Thismovement is sufficient to draw the flame front into the heatingappliance and accomplish the intended work of heating the appliance.Combustion air is controlled by an adjustable shutter (26) thatsurrounds a squirrel cage type blower (27), allowing the total forceddraft to be balanced to the air consumption requirements of the fuelfeed rate for optimum combustion efficiency.

The return oil stream from the oil sump (69) back to the fuel storagedrum (5) via a return oil tube (70) can be accomplished in differentways based on the differential elevation of the oil sump (69) and thetop of the fuel storage drum (5). For example, when the oil sump (69) ishigher than the top of the fuel storage drum (5), the return oil streamis allowed to flow back to the lower channel of the floating draw-off(11) that is designed for return oil flow via hollow metal tubing andflare fittings.

Additionally, when the oil sump (69) is lower than the top of the fuelstorage drum (5), the oil is pumped by use of a second pump that drawsthe oil from the oil sump (69) and returns it to the storage drum (5).

Most of the particulate food solids that may be contaminants of thewaste oil that is combusted are burned up in the combustion of theatomized oil once it leaves the surface of the Babington Ball and passesthrough the igniter (38), where the solids' energy content contributesto the overall system thermal output. Any debris that is delivered tothe upward pole of the Babington Ball that is not involved in thecombustion is washed off the downward pole into the oil sump (69). Thisdebris is then returned to the fuel storage drum (5) via the return oiltube (70) where it may settle. The oil sump (69) has a removable base(72) to allow for cleaning any accumulated debris.

Additionally, a computer interface is included in one or moreembodiments of the invention. The input signal is based on thermalsensors located on the surface of the firebox, the heat exchanger and/orthe chimney. The output of the computer system may be used to adjust ormodify the controller (39). The computer system may also be used toadjust other aspects of the system, such as the mechanical position ofthe air tube (60) or the speed of the motor (34). These approaches havethe same goal of controlling the amount of oil that is aspirated andthereby controlling the heat output.

Also, the fire tube (22) is clamped or otherwise secured to the flangemounted on the heating appliance.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating techniques for performing wasteoil combustion, according to an embodiment of the present invention.Step 202 includes separating one or more contaminants from strained oilto produce segregated layers of oil. Separating contaminants from thestrained waste oil can include facilitating gravity separation of one ormore contaminants from the strained waste oil.

Step 204 includes selectively drawing one or more segregated layers ofthe oil. Selectively drawing segregated layers of the waste oil caninclude utilizing a different specific gravity of the waste oils, watercontaminants and the particulate matter. Selectively drawing one or moresegregated layers of the waste oil can include drawing a topmost layerof waste oil from the segregated layers of waste oil without drawing oneor more lower layers of waste oil that contain a larger percentage ofcontaminants. Step 206 includes entraining the drawn oil to a burner forcombustion.

Step 208 includes regulating flow rate of the oil being entrained to theburner to produce a controllable amount of heat output (for example,through viscosity control and flow channel friction), wherein regulatingcan include implementing a pump motor speed control. Regulating flowrate of the waste oil being entrained to the burner to produce acontrollable amount of heat output can include controlling positioningof the burner head under a fuel input stream.

The techniques depicted in FIG. 2 can also include straining waste oil,as well as removing decontaminated waste oil after one or morecontaminants are removed. In an example embodiment of the invention,straining waste oil can include using a container fitted with a mesh toact as a strainer.

Additionally, at least one embodiment of the invention can includeatomizing the waste oil at a burner head for complete combustion. Asappreciated by one skilled in the art, oil will cleanly burn in a liquidform when the oil droplets are sufficiently small (for example, on theorder of 50 microns). Also, a pool of liquid oil will likely not ignitebelow its ignition temperature of around 350 degrees Fahrenheit.Accordingly, without complete combustion, a unit can possibly producenon-trivial amounts of smoke (potentially in violation of pollutionregulation) and waste significant amounts of energy in the process. Asused herein, “complete” combustion is an industry standard ofapproximately 80% to 90% combustion.

The techniques depicted in FIG. 2 can also include facilitatingopen-channel flow of the waste oil without restriction subject toclogging by debris. Also, an aspect of the invention includes regulatingthe waste oil for viscosity control.

Additionally, one or more embodiments of the invention can beimplemented in the form of an apparatus or system including a feedbacksystem and at least one processor that is coupled to a sensor thatcontrols the rate of delivery of fuel oil to the burner head.

Aspects of the invention (for example, controller (such as component 39in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B) or a workstation or other computer system tocarry out design methodologies) can employ hardware and/or hardware andsoftware aspects. Software includes but is not limited to firmware,resident software, microcode, etc. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system300 that can implement part or all of one or more aspects or processesof the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, memory 330 configures theprocessor 320 to implement one or more aspects of the methods, steps,and functions disclosed herein (collectively, shown as process 380 inFIG. 3). Different method steps could theoretically be performed bydifferent processors. The memory 330 could be distributed or local andthe processor 320 could be distributed or singular. The memory 330 couldbe implemented as an electrical, magnetic or optical memory, or anycombination of these or other types of storage devices. It should benoted that if distributed processors are employed, each distributedprocessor that makes up processor 320 generally contains its ownaddressable memory space. It should also be noted that some or all ofcomputer system 300 can be incorporated into an application-specific orgeneral-use integrated circuit. For example, one or more method stepscould be implemented in hardware in an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) rather than using firmware. Display 340 (optional) isrepresentative of a variety of possible input/output devices.

As is known in the art, part or all of one or more aspects of themethods and apparatus discussed herein may be distributed as an articleof manufacture that itself comprises a tangible computer readablerecordable storage medium having computer readable code means embodiedthereon. The computer readable program code means is operable, inconjunction with a processor or other computer system, to carry out allor some of the steps to perform the methods or create the apparatusesdiscussed herein. A computer-usable medium may, in general, be arecordable medium (for example, floppy disks, hard drives, compactdisks, EEPROMs, or memory cards) or may be a transmission medium (forexample, a network comprising fiber-optics, the world-wide web, cables,or a wireless channel using time-division multiple access, code-divisionmultiple access, or other radio-frequency channel). Any medium known ordeveloped that can store information suitable for use with a computersystem may be used. The computer-readable code means is any mechanismfor allowing a computer to read instructions and data, such as magneticvariations on a magnetic medium or height variations on the surface of acompact disk. The medium can be distributed on multiple physical devices(or over multiple networks). As used herein, a tangiblecomputer-readable recordable storage medium is intended to encompass arecordable medium, examples of which are set forth above, but is notintended to encompass a transmission medium or disembodied signal.

The computer system can contain a memory that will configure associatedprocessors to implement the methods, steps, and functions disclosedherein. The memories could be distributed or local and the processorscould be distributed or singular. The memories could be implemented asan electrical, magnetic or optical memory, or any combination of theseor other types of storage devices. Moreover, the term “memory” should beconstrued broadly enough to encompass any information able to be readfrom or written to an address in the addressable space accessed by anassociated processor. With this definition, information on a network isstill within a memory because the associated processor can retrieve theinformation from the network.

Thus, elements of one or more embodiments of the invention, such as, forexample, the controller, can make use of computer technology withappropriate instructions to implement method steps described herein. Asalso detailed herein, the output of the computer system may be used toadjust or modify the controller (component 39 in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B),as well as be used to adjust other aspects of the system of at least oneembodiment of the invention, such as the mechanical position of the airtube (component 60 in FIG. 1B) or the speed of the motor (component 34in FIG. 1B).

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that one or more embodiments of thepresent invention can include a computer program comprising computerprogram code means adapted to perform one or all of the steps of anymethods or claims set forth herein when such program is run on acomputer, and that such program may be embodied on a computer readablemedium. Further, one or more embodiments of the present invention caninclude a computer comprising code adapted to cause the computer tocarry out one or more steps of methods or claims set forth herein,together with one or more apparatus elements or features as depicted anddescribed herein.

It will be understood that processors or computers employed in someaspects may or may not include a display, keyboard, or otherinput/output components. In some cases, an interface can be provided(for directing operation of the system, displaying instructions,results, etc.).

Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to exemplary embodimentsthereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and intheir operation, may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, it is expresslyintended that all combinations of those elements and/or method stepswhich perform substantially the same function in substantially the sameway to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention.Furthermore, it should be recognized that structures and/or elementsand/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with anydisclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in anyother disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as ageneral matter of design choice. It is the intention to be limited onlyas indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An oil combustion system, comprising: a storagecontainer for separating one or more contaminants from strained oil viagravity separation to produce segregated oil; an oil uptake channel forentraining a layer of the segregated oil from the storage container; afuel regulator for controlling rate of flow of the segregated oil fromthe storage container as an input stream to a burner head via the oiluptake channel, wherein the fuel regulator comprises a pump motor speedcontrol; and a burner head control for repositioning a burner head underthe segregated oil input stream to produce a controllable amount of heatoutput.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: an interface formonitoring and/or directing operation of the system.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the oil comprises vegetable oil.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the oil uptake channel for entraining a layer of thesegregated oil from the storage container uptakes a topmost layer of oilfrom the storage container without entraining one or more lower layersof oil from the storage container.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a floating draw-off for removing decontaminated oil afterone or more contaminants are removed.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe fuel regulator comprises a flow channel.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the fuel regulator controls rate of flow of the oil to theburner head without a constriction subject to clogging with debris. 8.The system of claim 7, wherein the fuel regulator controls viscosity ofthe oil via a regulated thermal input system.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein heat output is controlled by repositioning the burner head underthe segregated oil input stream where a laminar flow over a surface ofthe burner head is of greater or lesser thickness as it flows over apressurized air jet stream emanating from the burner head.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the thickness of the laminar flow over thesurface of the burner head is based on at least one of user preferenceand a setting to tune the heat output to an appliance capacity.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the burner head control facilitates a greateror smaller amount of oil film to be atomized by a pressurized air jetstream.
 12. A method for performing oil combustion, comprising the stepsof: separating one or more contaminants from strained oil to producesegregated layers of oil; selectively drawing one or more segregatedlayers of the oil; entraining the drawn oil to a burner for combustion;and regulating flow rate of the oil being entrained to the burner toproduce a controllable amount of heat output, wherein said regulatingcomprises implementing a pump motor speed control.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, comprising: monitoring and/or directing operation of the oilcombustion via an interface.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the oilcomprises vegetable oil.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein separatingone or more contaminants from the strained oil comprises facilitatinggravity separation of one or more contaminants from the strained oil.16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: facilitatingopen-channel flow of the oil without restriction subject to clogging bydebris.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising: regulating theoil for viscosity control.
 18. The method of claim 12, whereinselectively drawing one or more segregated layers of the oil comprisesdrawing a topmost layer of oil from the segregated layers of oil withoutdrawing one or more lower layers of oil that contain a larger percentageof contaminants.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein regulating flowrate of the oil being entrained to the burner to produce a controllableamount of heat output comprises controlling positioning of the burnerhead under a fuel input stream.
 20. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: straining the oil.